XMen The Prodigal
by X1-Zero
Summary: AU. No Scott no Alex. OCs When his family is found Dead a former Student returns to the X-Mansion and fidns that both the people and his role among them have changed. Rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and the few OCs.

A/N: The idea for this story sprung up on me while I was at work for Eleven and a Half Hours, reviews are welcome.

Exact Location Unknown

Darkness as always proved to be an apt companion, doing what he did you needed to be able to blend into the shadows, that and kill people really good. And quiet, you had to be quiet about it. Getting caught wasn't an option.

It was with this thought in mind that the assassin moved silently towards the Cockpit of the Aircraft, deciding it'd be better for his success that he wasn't heard or seen before he needed to be, simply pressed the button on his left wrist and vanished from the hallway with nothing more than an inaudible pop

As soon as he felt solid steel underneath his feet he reacted, striking the Co pilot with the underside of his palm, sending his skull crashing into the large piece of machinery beside him, startling the Pilot who was met with a smoking barrel and a bullet in the brain.

He didn't have a lot of experience with this type of thing, the Aeroplane, not the killing. He'd been doing _that_ since he was Seventeen and he'd gotten quite good at it too, no what he didn't have experience with was Aeroplanes, taking a quick futile glance as the controls, deciding once again that he should have left _this_ mission to the _other_ Teleporter of the Group.

There was only one thing he could do in times like these, grinning underneath his mask as he unsheathed his swords, twin Katana's that glistened in the moonlight, it was only a fraction of a second before they were both embedded into the control panel, which promptly exploded

'_Now to finish the job_' though he had _technically_ completed the mission, in disabling the plane, he always found it best to make _certain_ the targets were dead and gone before returning to base, knowing that now he had little time to act simply pushed the small button on his left wrist once more and vanished from the cockpit and back into the hallway, still as dark as ever.

He was pleasantly surprised when he was met with the barrel of a gun and the faces of his targets, the woman looked scared out of her mind. While the man, slightly older, looked confident, like he had the situation under control. Oh how little this man really knew.

"You'd best use it Pal. If ya want to live" no sooner had the words been spoken did he feel the all too familiar searing pain of a bullet pricing flesh. A good thing he hadn't been hit anywhere important, he did have another shoulder after all

"That wasn't exactly what I had in mind" that said he retaliated in one swift motion he unsheathed both Katana's and ended both sets of lives. God he loved his job, a panicked cry not only startled him but alerted him to the presence of another on the plane, strange, the report had only mentioned two people. No matter, whoever it was would be dead soon enough, that thought in mind the self same button that had gotten him to where he was, was pushed once more, this time taking him from the Aeroplane and to the sky below, where after a free fall drop he'd be reunited with his Team.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and the few OCs.

A/N: The original Idea for what this Chap was supposed to be got lost in the shuffle, but I'm pleased with what I have here, as usual reviews are welcome

Review Responses: I always wondered what it'd feel like after reading my first review, my best friend and current proof reader thinks it's cool that I'm all giddy.

SmoochyAddict, I'm glad someone else likes my writing style, though not many people I know do, I hope the internal dialogue gave a feel for the character. As for the mission and its repercussions, they'll be seen soon.

And, now on with the story...

Exact Location Unknown

He just had to blow the damn thing up, didn't he? Knowing they were down here, where the debris was most likely to _fall_ he still blew it up. That man could be so narrow minded at times. That and a show off, I mean really? A free fall drop? Into an ocean with no parachute, who does he think he is? James Bond?

"The Commanders gonna have a field day with this" well done captain obvious, he _always_ found something to complain to them about, be it their _unprofessional conduct_ or their _lack of regard for the rules_ maybe the old man just wanted to complain?

"Doesn't he always? If it's not this it'll be something else" they could see him now, acting as though he'd done that a thousand times. A few seconds later he was in the small boat beside them

"Miss me?" oh he was pushing it tonight. Neither of them would admit that they had, they'd never hear the end of it.

"Hardly" she could tell he was grinning underneath that mask, why he chose to wear it was beyond her, but then again, he did a lot of things that were beyond her.

"Aw, now that just hurts Drew, I mean really, really hurts" hand over his chest like she'd wounded him with her words

"No problems?" something hadn't been right up there, they knew _that_ much given the stiffening of his spine as the words were spoken

"No" she knew he was lying. She just didn't know _why_

Los Angeles

California

The cold night air coupled with the mind numbing silence served as a reminder for why he was here. Guard duty they had called it, someone had to watch the targets family they had said. It was at times like these, where he had nothing to do but wait that his mind began to wander and _that_ was never any good.

_If I don't hear anything soon, I'm going to go mad_ though it could be argued that he already is. How many people could do what he does without going crazy? Not many, that's for sure.

From his vantage point opposite the targets _home_ though where he comes from people don't normally live in houses the size of the Houses of Parliament. _Americans, have to do everything big_, if the information they had on the Targets family then there were only two options as to who it were. The Targets younger brother, though he doubted it by the way they walked. Which left the man's mistress. _Politicians are the same wherever I go_ couldn't these people live happily with _one_ woman? He wasn't a religious man, hadn't been inside a church since he was twelve. And yet here, in a country that's predominantly religious, _obviously not everyone_ was a man that had gone against one, if not more of the Ten Commandments. His eyes following the figure all the way until they reached the security gate, watching as they were let through with no more than a nod of the guards head, whoever it was had been here more than once, did that mean it wasn't his mistress? The quiet ringing of his phone pulled him from his musings

"Drake" he still hadn't gotten used to that, though really what else could he have chosen? Zane Drake had no connections to his past, no ties back home and so was the perfect alias. That didn't mean he'd _ever_ get used to hearing it

"Sir, you're certain that the woman on the plane is our Targets Wife?" god this man was annoying, how many times had he told him not to raise his voice at him? Did the man listen? Obviously not.

"I don't care _what_ the information said. A woman, obviously familiar with the guards just walked right in, no more than a slight nod of the guys head" Ha! He knew that would shut him up, the man might want to get from behind his desk once in a while and do some _actual_ work.

"Wait what? No offense sir, but you think that's a good idea? Yes sir, no sir I don't have a problem, of course sir" _bastard_ shoving the phone back in the pocket it came from _well I wanted some action didn't I?_ And while that were true, he didn't _really_ didn't like the thought of breaking into this place, especially given that he knew _nothing_ about the layout of the house.

A/N2: Like I said earlier, reviews are welcome; hopefully it won't be as long a gap in between Chaps this time around.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and the few OCs.

A/N: I've got to say this is the most inspired I've been for this Story in a long time, I've never even written two Chaps in two days before and while this was still being fine tuned I had it done alongside Chap Two. I had re-write the first section at least twice before I got it where I wanted it.

Hope you enjoy and as usual, reviews are welcome.

Los Angeles California

Normally he wouldn't be so careful, if this Target had been any other man, he'd have simply fought his way into the Estate. But he knew that wouldn't go down well with his Commander and no matter how much the man might irritate him beyond comprehension, he had no intention of making trouble for him, or his team.

Which was why he was going against his gut instincts, rather than force his way in, like he'd thought of many hours before while waiting for news about his team, he was going to do things the way his Sensei would have done '_Though I doubt he'd enjoy the reason I had to use what he taught me_' he was almost upon the Security Box now, knowing that he couldn't be distracted he pushed the thought aside for now and focused solely on his new Target. The small 4 by 4 Box stood little over seven foot and was at least four foot wide, though he wasn't sure.

Its size wasn't his concern, he'd have enough room to do what he needed to, even if it could only fit himself and his Target. His concern was where the entrance was situated and the Security Camera directly opposite '_why can't I ever get the easy jobs?_' though he had in fact gotten the easier Job in watching the Targets house, it wasn't the first time this had happened to him, he doubted it'd be the last too. '_Right, I'll have to get him before he can push that nifty little aid button_' though having no explicitly seen said button, he'd seen enough Security Boxes doing what he did to know they _all_ had them, he also knew that an estate as big as this one, wouldn't have just _one _guard, it would have many.

He'd known something was off all night, the appearance of his bosses Daughter, though a regular occurrence was normally recorded and he sudden appearance had his senses going haywire, in his youth he'd have paid more attention to what his body was telling him, he'd spent too much of his life relying on his 'gut' to allow it to rule his semi-retirement.

"Sorry about this old man" the unexpected voice caused him to leap out of his chair and gave his ageing heart at run for its money, before he could ponder the words that had reached his ears he'd been struck in lower leg sending him to his knees, one final blow to the back of the head sent him spiralling into darkness, the last sounds he heard were the fading footsteps of his assailant

God, he hadn't expected the man to have been that old. It wasn't sitting well with his conscience, if he'd have known the man was _that_ old he'd have approached things another way. But he hadn't, if he thought of it like that then he could live with it. Besides, it wasn't as if he'd killed the man. '_Yeah. But I doubt the old man's heart will last long_' there were times, like just then that he _hated_ his mutation. _Hated_ that it was the reason behind so many events of his life that had led him to this point. '_You need to get a damn grip_' now was no time to be wallowing in self-pity. He had a job to do, and he'd damn well do it, just like he always did.

Whether he was Zane Drake or Ben Davis, he _always_ finished what he started

And he wasn't about to stop now.

He should've anticipated motion sensors on the Grass. Cursing himself for his stupidity as he moved as quickly as his legs would allow, heading for the Garage three feet in front of him "Aw Shit" the alarms had started now, that meant he needed to step up his game. He really didn't want to do things this way, it didn't seem as though he had much of a choice though as the sound of sirens approaching reached his ears, both amused and surprised at how quickly the LAPD had responded. He needed to do something drastic, something that would divert attention from himself and the Mansion before him so he could go about his business. His feet now planted firmly in the ground, his back rigid and his eyes closed, with two deep calming breaths and a silent but hopeful prayer he lashed out with his left hand and in doing so, the Security Box crumbled, crushed by the weight of Gravity itself. '_Forgive me father, for I have sinned'_ Sparing one lone glance in the direction of the now crumpled Security Box before turning to the Mansion a small fleeting hope that the old man had survived entered his mind before he reached the entrance. A large wooden door, he'd seen plenty before, had lived in a house with a door quite similar to this one. This one was marred by signs of forced entry. _Strange, I didn't see anyone_' narrowing his eyes in suspicion he pushed the door open with little effort. Hardly surprising, considering it's state. A question which he'd have to answer later. He was halfway up the staircase when he heard the bone chilling scream of pain.

'_At least I know I'm not alone_' his own senses on high alert as he made his way up the stairs two at a time, not caring if he was heard. Whoever it was wouldn't live to tell the tale anyway.

"All that screamin' aint gonna help you girly" well whoever it was needed a lesson on how to talk obviously. Did all thugs have to lose their 'G's sometime between Adolescence and Adulthood? '_Great,_ _now I sound like my old man_' burying the dark thoughts that always surfaced when his _father_ was mentioned he strode into the room to his left. Grinning as he saw the bulky assailant, he knew who it was. But what he didn't know was why? As if the large, crimson helmet atop his head wasn't enough, the man wore an all crimson getup, gloves, shirt, jeans, boots the lot. He looked like one giant cherry.

"I didn't think they let animals like you out at night anymore Marko" the larger man stiffened at the sound of his voice, the girl held in his abnormally large right hand flailed about in a futile attempt to escape, which earned her a rather painful punch to the gut from the left hand

"You like manhandling women now too? Learn that in the slammer? Or did Black Tom teach you that before you got busted?" he knew he was pushing his luck when it came to the temper of the man known as Juggernaut, before he found the Gem of Cyttorak Cain Marko was your average Soldier, as average as you could get for having Charles Xavier for a step brother that is

"Ya always had this mouth on ya kid? Or'd ya just pick it up workin' for Stryker?" well wasn't he well informed? Normally he'd find his words insulting, instead he found the larger mans futile attempts at humour pathetic, he should just stick to using his thick head to ram people

"Oh it's always been here Marko; you're just too stupid to have noticed it by now. Say why not put the girl down? Or do you need to grope a poor defenceless little girl to get off these days?" he grinned as the larger man snapped, dropping the girl and ran full speed for him. he had to time this just right, otherwise, well he'd look more like a pancake than a person in the morning, smirking as the large right hand of the Juggernaut came careening towards his head, using a combination of his own reflexes and agility coupled with that of the momentum the Crimson Giant had accumulated flipped himself behind the still moving Juggernaut, whose own momentum propelled him over the landing. "Some people never change" turning his gaze to the young woman, now lying in a crumpled pile by the open window he only had to look once to know that the Juggernaut wasn't alone. The bullet hole in her head was enough proof of that.

Carson City, Nevada

When he'd left his only _real_ home Ten Years prior, he'd chosen the State of Nevada for a lot of reasons, two of them being Las Vegas, a place which he's spent more money than he has nights, the second and his favourite was the weather. Temperatures here could reach up to 125 Degrees Fahrenheit. That suited him just fine. He, more than most benefited from warm weather. _One of many benefits to my Mutation_ though it had plenty of drawbacks, as you would expect having the Mutation he does was more than useful. If putting out house fires had been a problem for him before, they weren't now.

That didn't help the deep feeling of unease that had settled within the bowls of his gut. Something was off. When his phone rang twenty minutes later, he knew it wasn't good news

A/N2: Just one more Chap before the X-Men make their appearance.


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